By Karen Miles, IBCLC
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) – an umbrella term for conditions including heart disease, heart attack, stroke, heart failure, arrhythmia, and heart valve problems – touches so many lives every year. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is the leading cause of death across the globe, with 85 percent of cardiovascular disease-related deaths in 2022 (the latest WHO data available) being due to a heart attack or stroke. They recommend avoiding cardiovascular disease risk factors such as tobacco use; heavy alcohol consumption; a diet filled with excess salt, sugar and fat; and an inactive lifestyle to reduce your chances of getting CVD.
But if you are a mother, you may also wonder: Wouldn’t it be nice if during my baby’s infancy I could do something really impactful to lower my baby’s risk of getting cardiovascular disease later on in life?
Good news for the breastfed baby
Well, according to a recent “Mendelian randomization study” highlighted in the December 2025 Journal of Dairy Science, your wish may have been granted if you are breastfeeding your baby!
What in the world is a Mendelian randomization study? It is defined by the journal Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine as “...a method of studying the causal effects of modifiable exposures (i.e., potential risk factors) on health, social, and economic outcomes using genetic variants associated with the specific exposures of interest.”
The nice outcome of this particular cardiovascular disease study? According to its authors, “This study demonstrated that breastfeeding in infancy can reduce the risk of CHD [coronary heart disease], and the lipid component HDL may be an important bioactive substance through which breast milk exerts its protective effects.” [emphasis added]
As you may recall from high school science class, HDL stands for high-density lipoprotein, which is considered to be the “good” cholesterol that you generally want more of and that the Mayo Clinic says is associated with a lower risk of heart disease.
Of course, this is only one study, and the article’s authors point out that previous studies before this on the relationship between being breastfed as a baby and risk of CVD have "yielded conflicting results.” But even so, this study’s findings are promising.
Good news for the breastfeeding mother
Even more good news on the topic of cardiovascular disease and breastfeeding: The Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA) a few years ago, in 2022, published research indicating that mothers who breastfeed reduce their own risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The journal highlighted a systematic review and meta-analysis of eight studies involving over a million parous women (women who have given birth), which found “...women who breastfed had a lower risk of future cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, stroke, and fatal cardiovascular disease.” [emphasis added]
Also, the longer the overall lifetime duration of breastfeeding, the greater the benefits. The JAHA article cited “...a progressive reduction of cardiovascular risk with lifetime durations of breastfeeding of up to 12 months.”
What does all this mean? Breastfeeding may be a win-win for both mothers who breastfeed and the babies they breastfeed, when it comes to reducing the risk of getting cardiovascular disease! More evidence that breastfeeding may have far-reaching effects for mothers and babies.
Karen Miles is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and Lactation Content Specialist with Milkify.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or be a substitute for medical advice. Please consult with your healthcare provider for any questions you may have related to your own health, or your baby’s health.
